


Let's be Heroes

by Mr_Legoman



Category: Ed Edd n Eddy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Best Friends, Child Abuse, Comic Book Science, Crime Fighting, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Eventual Romance, Friendship, Heroes & Heroines, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Male Friendship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Older Brothers, Violence, crappy parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25963540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_Legoman/pseuds/Mr_Legoman
Summary: When a gang of criminals attacks Peach Creek, it falls to the Eds and their allies to not only protect their city but to stop the gang from achieving their ultimate objective.
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue We'll be Heroes

Prologue: We'll be Heroes

The small yet amazing sparks escaped from Eddy's hands, getting an "ooh" of excitement from his two closest and only friends. "Do it again, Eddy," Ed cheered giving an enthusiastic smile as if Eddy had just done something miraculous. Eddy smiled and repeated the gesture. He focused slightly and the electricity gathered in his palms then shot out it from his fingers. He held his hand upward to better display his cool powers. Ed and Edd watched the sparks with wonder on their faces. He wanted them to be impressed and they were. "That's so cool, Eddy," Ed stated grinning while bouncing up and down on his unmade bed.

Currently, the trio of boys were in Ed's room on the second floor preparing for a monster movie marathon. Sure the place was becoming a pigsty but it was the only place they truly had to hangout. Edd's place was usually off-limits and his parents didn't give him a T.V, as for his own house, Eddy preferred to avoid it. His brother usually hung around and his naggy parents were all reasons Eddy liked to be out of the house. Ed's place had problems but at the end of the day, they could watch as many terribly cheesy horror movies as they wanted. There was that annoying baby sister Ed had and Ed's parents always gave Eddy disapproving glances and would often watch him whenever he was around but Eddy didn't mind. Most adults did that around him.

As they waited for the marathon to start, Eddy showed off his powers some more, sure he had them for as long as he could remember and showed them off constantly to his friends, but his friends were never unimpressed with them. He summoned up a bit of his lighting and powered the T.V remote without the need for batteries. Even though it was a pretty weak trick, Ed was amazed all the same. He began clapping but remembered his parents' warning and stopped himself. "I can't wait for my powers to develop." He declared in his best attempt at a whisper.

"Well, Ed," Edd said reassuring the tall kid. "We won't have to wait long, maybe two more years. In most cases, children usually develop their powers about age seven or eight." Ed's grin widened and he pretended to start shooting something out of his fingers, making noises as he did so. "I'll be casting fireballs in no time," Ed promised. Then I'll join Dad and become his side-kick. And then-" Ed then launched into his dreams for the future, which he always did whenever the topic if heroes or the future came up. He did this while fighting an enemy only he could see. Eddy chuckled as he watched his friend fight. His dad, as Ed often reminded them was a semi-famous fire hero with some unique fire skills, combine that with his mom's fire power, Ed could stand to become the best fire-based hero in peach creek, if not the whole state. Eddy watched Ed in his imaginary fight. His constant grin was infectious and Eddy found himself smiling.

"Really, Ed, you should be more concerned with the fight against germs and dirt. Your room is certainly a battleground since its full of dirty clothes and trash," Edd said with a bit of a disapproving tone. Eddy nodded, looking at the mess of a room. Comic books and action figures lay everywhere. Monster movie memorabilia lay amidst the clutter and random junk covered the rest. The only neat area was Ed's figurine collection. There were only two of them on the shelf, but they were the cleanest part of Ed's room.

Eddy then looked over at his rather nerdy friend. He was cleaning as best he could the mess known as Ed's room. He was the newest member of the cul-da-sac and was distant. When they first met, he would hardly talk and would just tag along on their adventures. He was neat and orderly, unlike himself or Ed, Edd's clothing and hair was neat and clean. He did his best to order the mess of a room but it was impossible. As he watched his friend struggle with his impossible task a question popped up in his head. It was something his parents nor his brother ever answered for him. "Hey, Double D, how come I have powers then? Am I just that special?"

Double D paused in his cleaning and looked deep in thought. "I remember hearing my parents talk once, they said that if someone is put into a high amount of stress or life-threatening situations, then their powers could manifest early. Although there can be side effects to this." Double D paused considering. Whatever else he was going to say was interrupted by Ed who was still going on with his monolog about the future. "Then we three will form a team and stop bad guys!" Eddy and Double D look at Ed a bit confused at first but then chuckle. "Really Ed, I don't think I can be a hero."

"But your mom's a hero right?" Ed asked. "I remember she's like an international hero too." Edd rubbed the back of his head. "Well yes, she is a hero but I think I want to go follow my dad and become a researcher. "Boring," Eddy stated with a smile. "Me and Ed will become heroes and get loads of money." Double D just rolled his eyes but Ed was clearly into it.

"Come on Double D, be heroes with us." Ed pleaded with those puppy dog eyes of his. Double D tried to look away but Ed was still in his face. He eventually sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll be heroes with you guys," Double D finally relented. Ed cheered triumphantly as if this was some major victory. "We're going to be heroes!" Ed yelled triumphantly. Then immediately covered his mouth. Eddy and Double D waited as well. When there was no yelling from his parents or crying from his sister, they all breathed a sigh of relief. It was awkward for the next few seconds until the announcement on Ed's T.V began. "It's starting," Ed said giddily. As one, they turned their attention to it and gathered around. The movie began with all its cheap and weird glory. Eddy watched it but Ed's word echoed in his head. "We will be heroes!" Eddy bawled his hand into a fist, his tiny sparks came from it, and Eddy watched them. If he truly focused on the sparks he could feel them and guide them. He wondered not for the first time how he got this ability. His parents were both powerless while his brother had both his abilities. Again his brother blew him off or worse whenever he had asked about the origin of their powers. His parents were equally cagey about the question. Eddy sighed and deactivated his powers. The sparks fading to wherever they went when not in use. Who gave me this power? He wondered to himself, not for the first time. As he watched the movie with his only friends, Eddy tried to push the question from his mind. He was a bit successful, assuring himself that whoever he got his power from were some cool hero, who was likely famous and wealthy. That explanation didn't make much sense to him but he again tried to ignore it, but both questions still lingered on his mind, long after the movie ended.

Ten years Later

Edd felt the wind get knocked out of him as he collided with the ground. He tried to get up but the mechanical training dummy pinned him before he could react. He struggled in vain for a moment then sighed in defeat. He waited but when the robot didn't relent, he was forced to call out. "I yield." Still, nothing if anything the robot put more pressure on him. Realizing what his prompters wanted Edd sent his mind out and focused on the nearby terminal. Pressing down on the memorized keys the robot relented and picked itself up. Edd breathed a sigh of relief and picked himself up checking to make sure he had no major injuries or bruises. He readjusted his cap on his head and looked up to the overseer of this forced training exercise. It was easy to spot in the all-white training room, being a floor or so above him, obscured by the opaque windows. They could fully see him thanks to the two-way mirror. He, however, could only barely make out some of the shapes in the room. He watched them, three shapes up there silently judging him. One of those shapes he knew was his father. Edd waited for them to pass judgment. He didn't have to wait long, the door behind him opened. "You can go now, Eddward." Edd wanted to wait for more but he knew there would be nothing else. He turned and left the too white room, exiting through the sliding door.

The hallway he walked into was a light grey. The walls, floor even the nameplates were a greyish white. When he was fully in the corridor, the door shut behind him with a small hiss. Edd turned to it as he did his routine after training stretches. He could activate it and open it up and demand some sort of answer from his father and his team, but Edd knew better. His parents raised him to be a proper young man and to them, that meant not asking questions.

Done with his stretches, he walked down the now familiar lifeless halls. He knew these hallways like the back of his hand now and he didn't need to consult a map or one of the staff to navigate his way out of the training area. The hallways were oddly empty, the numerous researchers and scientist normally present were missing for some odd reason. Edd searched his memory but didn't recall his father mentioning any holiday or special days. But then again Edd reasoned when was the last time either of his parents told him anything important. Edd shook himself. His parents had their reasons he knew. But just like these tests they had him do, Edd could not puzzle out what that reason could be.

As Edd finally reached the front desk, he breathed a sigh of relief. Like the hallways and stairwells, the front entrance was missing the hustle and bustle it usually had, but there was at least a person there. A rather portly security guard named Jameson. He sat behind his desk, eating a snack. Edd waved to him. The guard only nodded and continued to munch on whatever snack he had behind his desk.

"Good afternoon," Edd said as he approached.

Jameson attempted to speak but it came out garbled thanks to the food. He swallowed then tried again. "Good evening," he said in a cheery voice. "They're done with you already."

"Yes," Edd said. "It seems that way."

Edd was tempted to ask him if he knew what type of experiments, they were performing on him and running but Edd resisted. He couldn't get this man to break his secrecy and violate company trust just to sate his curiosity. So instead, Edd asked a different question. "Why does the building feel so empty, this afternoon? Is there a company holiday today?"

"Not exactly," Jameson answered. He was about to start eating his chips again but paused. "There's supposedly some big meeting out of town for all the smart people, hosted by one of the sponsors of this facility, Toga or some such. Some of the heroes in the area are also going. The rest of the researchers are on holiday again thanks to the sponsors." Edd nodded at that. He hadn't heard anything about that from his parents or the news. Edd looked around to confirm that they were truly alone, then looked back at Jameson. "Isn't that a bit dangerous. I mean sending some of our heroes away for a conference."

Jameson shrugged. "Nope, Peach Creek's crime is minimal. The police will handle most of the encounters, not like those major villains are coming back from the dead." Edd nodded, a growing sense of awkwardness rose inside him as it often did when the subject of Mindwipe and his accomplices came up. The villains who had attempted to annex the state using Peach Creek as a base, using their combination of electricity and mind control powers. An involuntary shiver ran through him and his mind unconsciously drifted to Eddy. Jameson must have seen his reaction as he began to speak up. "Don't worry, their supposedly some government types coming, to monitor and keep tabs on the city for the duration of the meeting."

"Well that's a relief," Edd said smile returning. Then after exchanging goodbyes, Edd left as he did so, he heard Jameson call out something about a new radio station. Edd only nodded, deciding he would look it up when he got home. Edd stepped out into the glorious evening. The sun was setting, and it was just starting to get chilly. Edd sighed and started walking. The research facility didn't allow taxis or other non-personnel up to it, so Edd was going to have to walk back to town before he could call himself a cab to take him the rest of the way home. He was used to the walk by now and being more athletic than he was in his youth helped. He had his driver's license, but his parents disapproved of driving to the facility in the retro-van or driving it in general. So Edd had to keep it at the junkyard. Arranging a deal with the junkyard's owner in the process. So, Edd had to walk to the facility on foot then he could drive home. Edd started a light jog toward town. There was a lot on his mind, and he had plenty of time to think about it.

Ed sat alone in his basement room, staring at the ceiling. It wouldn't be time for the junkyard yet, although he did have the key, he didn't feel like going out there without his friends along. Ed sat up and turned his attention to staring at a wall. There really wasn't much to do outside of hanging out with friends, and both his friends were going to be busy. Ed did have a comic he could read but he didn't want to risk it, especially not with Sarah in the house. So instead, Ed stared at his broken TV set and focused on it. It was odd how he could do this so easily without thinking but whenever he tried to focus, he strained. Relaxing Ed closed his eyes and imagined the most hideous monster from his comics. When he opened his eyes it stood before him. Ed smiled at his success but that smile slightly faded as he looked on the creation more. It was completely see-through even to him. Ed still managed to smile even as his creation became hazier. He focused his mind and shifted his focus. The monster shifted then split into three different people. His two best friends, Eddy to Edd, with his cap on, then to Ed's other favorite person, his younger sister Sarah. Sure, Sarah could be a bully at times and she was their parents' favorite but Ed didn't mind too much. She was his sister and that meant he loved her, faults in all. And she had mellowed out after the encounter they all had with Eddy's brother.

The shadows, as Ed like to call them, all resembled their respective counterparts, Eddy's was slightly tall with some growing muscle, Edd was tall with his wiry frame, but something about each one looked off on the closer inspection. And as Ed noticed the flaws more seemed to appear. "Almost had it," Ed said in defeat. "Got any advice Double D?" The Edd shadow didn't reply they couldn't after all. As far as he knew his shadows didn't make noise. Ed turned to his Eddy shadow, any advice Eddy?" Again nothing. Ed then turned to his sister. "Do you still see me as a hero Sarah?"

The Sarah shadow opened its mouth and what he heard was, "Ed! Mom called she says you have to help me train today, right now." Ed blinked the sound came from his sister up above him, but Ed could have sworn he heard something from his shadow. He quickly shook out his confusion and even quicker dispelled his shadows. They were after all forbidden in the house. "Alright," Ed called back loud enough for her to hear him. "Let me get dressed."

"Mom said no yelling in the house!" Sarah yelled back. Ed winced and resisted the urge to yell his apology. He just got up and went looking for his fire-resistant clothing. If he couldn't be a hero, then he could at least help a real one along her way.

Eddy lay on his bed, charging his phone. He had to be careful because he could give the phone too much juice and accidentally fry it as he'd done to numerous other phones. Sure, he could just plug it up but that was so slow and wasted time. This way at least Eddy could scroll through his phone while also getting in some kind of practice with one of his powers. Although Eddy didn't think it mattered with his pathetic powers. Before he could wallow further into self-pity and boredom, he heard the front door open and some talking coming from the front room. "Eddy, there here," he heard his mom call about a minute later. Eddy sighed and deactivated his electricity.

"I'll be out in a minute," Eddy yelled back. He rolled out of bed and attempted to smother the few wrinkles on his clothes with his hands. Normally he would care about his appearance, but for today's little meeting, he couldn't care less. Passing himself in the mirror, noticing the bags in his eyes and his wrinkled clothing, Eddy still would give himself a seven out of ten. He winked to himself and left his room. Eddy, hands in his pockets, walked to his living room, where his mother waited with the two agents. His mother named Katherine frowned at his appearance but didn't say anything. Eddy looked at the two agents doing his best to mask his emotions. "Well?" Eddy asked. "are we doing this here or what?"

"Oh, we'll go to a restaurant if you prefer. I spotted a nice looking one on the way here." Said the larger of the two. He then nodded to Kat and made his way toward the door. Eddy followed after him and the silent second agent, ignoring the continual look of disapproval his mother shot his way. Nothing ever good came of an S.V.P agent showing up.


	2. Chapter 1 Bad News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddy meets with the government agents.

The restaurant they arrived at looked more of an old-time diner than a modern restaurant. No lined the walls only sparse decorations. The place must have been slightly new, Eddy thought to himself as he had never seen or heard about this place. As they entered the nearly empty restaurant, a smiling middle-aged blond waitress greeted them and told them to find a seat. Eddy immediately led the way not wanting the two agents to pick a dumb place to sit. He immediately went for the corner booth that offered the less than ideal view of the street outside. The two agents stared at the booth skeptically but eventually just shrugged and sat down, the large muscular one sitting in the inner seat while the tall silent one sat on the edge. It was then Eddy realized how annoying the music in this place was. He frowned but didn't say anything. Avoiding needless conversation was one of his top priorities.

Before they could start bombarding him with questions, the same waitress came up to them. "Welcome, y'll to "Dave N Sons Diner? Semi-world-famous destination. I'm neither Dave nor one of his Sons," the waitress stated cheerily. The large agent, Roash, chuckled at her semi-joke. "I'm doing just fine, and yourself?"

"Better than I deserve, if I'm being honest. Now, what can I get y'll to drink today."

"Coke," Roash answered.

"Ice water," the tall blond replied. "Lots of ice."

Water for me too," Eddy grumbled. "Normal amount of ice."

"Alrighty," she said jotting down their orders. "Be right back with those drinks. Before she could Roash stopped her with a word. "Pardon me miss, but what's this place known for exactly?" Roash asked when he got her attention. Stocke seemed ready to interject but only Eddy noticed. "Well, ya see this supposedly is one of the locations that Mindwipe fiend used as his very first base in Peach Creek. The owner tryin to get this place recognized by historians. Eddy involuntarily flinched at hearing his "father's" name. He slumped in his seat and leaned against the window, trying to avoid looking suspicious. No wonder he had never heard of this place, his parents would have never taken him, much less spoke about this place. Technically, the people he lived with and called his parents were actually his foster parents not related by blood, as both of his biological parents were egotistical villains that had attempted to take over multiple states long since dead.

After finishing her explanation, the waitress left them, completely missing the gloomy mood that had hit the table. "Sorry about this," Roash apologized. "I guess I should have done more research on this place. Eddy just shrugged. He was used to Peach Creek and the surrounding area use his parents' images and legacy for some type of profit. "This place is fine," Eddy sighed. The waitress had at least not recognized him. To avoid making eye contact or conversation with the two agents Eddy pulled up his menu pretending to look for the meal he wanted. He quickly found his next meal, a simple cheeseburger with a side of fries. Eddy felt slightly lucky when the next few minutes passed without conversation, neither agent bothering him. That luck quickly faded when the waitress came back and Eddy attempted to place his order.

"Sorry sweetie," the blonde middle-aged waitress apologized. "But we just ran out of hamburger meat. Could I get ya' anything else." Sighing Eddy scanned back over the menu again. There were only a handful of days left during fall break ended, and this place had the nerve to not have burgers. Eddy sighed again, trying to relax and calm himself. This place, not having burgers wasn't something to get angry over even if it was annoying.

"I'll just have a side of fries," Eddy answered while passing the menu over to the waitress.

"Ya sure sweetie?" Eddy just nodded and tried to not slump in his seat.

She smiled and jotted down his order. Then she turned to the two men sitting across from him. "And what would you fine gentleman want?"

"My water is all," Stocke answered.

"Hmm, I really wanted a burger," Roash said clear disappointment in his voice. "But I'll try the meat loath with a side of fries." He smiled as he passed over his menu as well. "Oh, bring us out a pie as well," Roash added. "Apple."

The waitress returned the smile. "Your food will be out in a minute. I'll be back with your drinks." She then left to deliver their order to the kitchen.

When she was gone, Eddy continued his looking out the diner's window in sheer boredom. It wasn't a pleasant view, only offering a view of the street corner and the road. Still, it was better than the alternative, making eye contact always led to a conversation, and Eddy wanted to avoid that with his present company. Still, thinking about them Eddy casually glanced over at the men sitting across the table from him. They were both adults, with short cut blond hair and they were also both in casual business attire. That was where the differences ended however, the younger man Stocke, was an average height for an adult. Eddy had never seen not in a suit or seen him smile. The other man sitting by the window looked like some muscle-bound giant that had just stepped out of one of Ed's comics. Eddy despite having grown a bit since his childhood days still felt like a shrimp compared to this mountain of a man. He was tall and muscular who could dominate a room with his presence alone. If the diner wasn't so empty Eddy was sure everyone would stare at him. It was a wonder the waitress took their order without gawking in the first place. Roash also had a scar on the left side of his face further adding to his intimidation factor.

They could almost be brothers Eddy thought. he never asked or thought about them much to consider. Both special agents of the S.V.P. Super Villain Prevention. A dumb acronym, but Eddy was in no position to judge naming schemes, especially with how many of his old scams were equally as bad.

As he looked at the two, Eddy noticed that Stocke was observing him. He tried to stare back but the agent wasn't even bothered and continued to look at Eddy with that cold judgment in his eyes. Eddy quickly looked away but made the mistake of making eye-contact with the smiling Roash. "How's life Eddy?" the man asked.

"It's alright I guess," Eddy answered curtly. Thankfully before Roash could ask another question, the waitress returned, smiling and bringing out their drinks. Roash thanked the waitress and Eddy quickly went back to looking out the window. His relief was short-lived however because as soon as Roash sipped some of his Cola, he started asking questions again.

"So Eddy, " Roash began. "How's high school so far?"

Eddy gave a lazy shrug in response and returned to looking out the window. "Any plans on having a wild time?" Again Eddy shrugged his shoulders.

"I remember my years in high school." The mountain said staring into the past. "Me and Stocke here got into a bit of trouble didn't we?"

"We did indeed," Stocke said a the barest hint of a smile crossing his face. Eddy hoped that the two would get lost in their nostalgia and forget about him. He thought about using his power to relax the two and hopefully distract them, but Eddy knew how foolish and dangerous that was. The nostalgia faded a bit from Roash's eyes and he continued his line of questioning.

"So have you thought about what line of hero work you would want to go into?" Roash asked. "Rescue work? Fighting villains?" Then as an afterthought, he added. "No shame in not persuing the hero career. Many stand up good people work non-hero jobs."

Again Eddy shrugged. He had thought about it, a lot actually but his few years of life told him how pointless that line of thinking was. You think they would let you be a hero? You'll probably just try to brainwash someone and be stopped by a real hero. You'll have to brainwash someone into needing your help.

Eddy blinked and shook his head attempting to dispel the voices. He glanced at the two agents sitting across from him, Roash didn't seem to notice but Stocke did.

He was watching Eddy with that calculating eye again. Eddy just turned and tried to stare out the window but he glanced at Stocke out of the corner of his eye.

"Well you got time," replied Roash. "Took me a while to know what I wanted to do."

Eddy just attempted to sink into the corner and waited for the real reason the two had called him here. Roash would occasionally check on him for pleasantries and to keep in touch, that would be over the phone though. Whenever they met at a restaurant something serious and unpleasant was about to be brought up. Then there was Stocke. He only showed up with bad news, after all, he wasn't the agent assigned to Eddy.

After the silence went on for too short of a time, Stocke shifted in his seat and glanced about the restaurant. The diner was empty saved them and the waitress and the cooks in the back.

"Eddy," Stocke began lowering his voice to a casual whisper. "We didn't call just to check up on you." Roash sighed but did not contradict Stocke.

"Have you been in contact with your brother recently?"

Eddy froze and felt a cold sweat seize his body. He knew it was coming, he did but still, he never could get used to his brother even in mention.

"My brother?" His voice cracked and it took a moment to steady himself. "No, I haven't talked to my brother at all in years." Stocke was studying Eddy's reaction with those cold eyes. Roash spoke up, distracting Eddy from the glare. "It's okay, Eddy," Roash comforted. "It will be alright you're safe." Eddy breathed a bit easier and looked up at the large man. He had been the only other person besides Ed and Edd who believed Eddy about his brother.

Eddy looked between the two men judging their reactions. They were both looking serious, Roash at least tried to look comforting. Eddy wondered if they believed him or not. "I haven't heard anything since he was arrested and that was years ago." Stocke still didn't look convinced. "Are you positive? No letters, no text, nothing from the grapevine."

Eddy attempted not to glare at him but failed. "I told you," Eddy said. "I haven't heard from him." Stocke looked like he was about to press for more detail so Eddy headed him off and asked his own question. "What happened to my brother?" Eddy asked already guessing the answer.

Roash and Stocke shared a look and seemed to be having a mental conversation. Finally, Roash sighed and Stocke simply answered with one word. "Classified."

Eddy stared at the two indignant. He was about to object when Roash held up a hand. "Sorry, Eddy but we really can't tell you anything, except that..." Roash trailed off seeing the disapproving look Stocke shot him.

Stocke nodded. "We will leave it at classified for now." He said as he noticed the waitress returning with their food. "Here's ya'll's food." She said still smiling. "And that pie will be out in a minute."

"Thanks," Roash said staring at his food like a starved dog. Eddy mumbled his thanks as well and turned to regard his own food. His stomach growled and Eddy reached for the Ketchup, making sure to use a good helping to cover his fries. Eddy waited to dig in seeing Roash head bowed in prayer. A minute later Roash was done and Eddy began to politely stuff his face with his fries.

Roash did likewise devouring his meatloaf at near Ed level speeds. Stocke just watched them both with disapproval. As he ate, Eddy began to slow down a bit, not for any safety or polite reasons but because he knew that there would be more adult discussions coming after the meal. So, he slowed down his pace and took his time. As he ate, he thought. So, Marcus is likely out of jail. Not good. Eddy kept himself calm, barely, and focused on eating. There was no real reason to panic just yet. There was no reason for him to return to Peach Creek in the first place. There was no reason, Eddy assured himself.

As he tried to convince himself that his brother's return was not imminent, Eddy's anger grew at the two agents keeping secrets from him while trying to get information from him. He had known them for a majority of his life and yet they still treated him like this. They could at least mention something, they didn't need to tell him anything illegal but something that he could know. "Did he escape from jail?" Eddy blurted out bluntly. He looked up from his ketchup covered fries and stared at the two agents. He had not meant to ask the question, but he didn't walk it back either. He just stared and waited. Again the two shared a look, and after swallowing a mouthful of food, Roash answered him.

"Eddy, your brother has been out for over two years now. Didn't your parents tell you? They hadn't. Eddy gritted his teeth and glared at the two. "They were supposed to," Roash hurriedly added. "I told them when I first got news of it from Stocke. I offered to break the news to you, but they told me that they would handle it. Said it would be better if you heard it from them."

Eddy's anger seemed only to rise at that, and as a mirror to his own turmoil, Stocke and Roash seemed to be growing heated as well. "Calm down," Stocke ordered his calm expression slipping into an angry scowl. "Get a hold of yourself."

Eddy could feel the sparks and electricity building up in and around his fingers and he was careful not to touch anything metal as he shifted his glare to Stocke who met the glare with one of his own. "Settle down you two," Roash said in a strained voice, forcing himself to sound calm. After a few tense more seconds, the intense staring contest ended when there was a crash from the kitchen and storm of curses. As if it were a knife, the noises from the kitchen seemed to cut the tension and Eddy remembered himself and went to practicing his breathing exercises and looked out the window at nothing in particular. The mood seemed to return to relative normality in just a few seconds and Roash breathed a sigh of relief.

After another moment, Stocke dropped his cold expression and sighed. "Sorry Eddy, that was very unprofessional of me." Eddy nodded in agreement and focused on his breathing and continued to look out the window. Before he could apologize, the waitress came out, bits of pie on her uniform. "Sorry about the pie sweeties, I just dropped the pie a minute ago. I just got so angry that I…" She trailed off and made a frustrated gesture. "Don't know what came over me," Eddy did his best to fight from looking guilty and continued to stare out the window. He didn't need to know that both agents were giving him sideways looks. "I think it was a driver who just drove by," Roash lied. "Made an illegal u-turn and was cursing up a storm."

Stocke and Eddy nodded confirming the lie. The waitress just shook her head. "People need to control their mental powers better, don't need another incident. She trailed off into muttering but Eddy could guess at what she was saying. She shook her head and the two agents made noises of some form of agreement. Eddy just made sure to sink in his seat further.

Slowly things returned to normal, Eddy and Roash went back to eating and Stocke drank his water. The waitress came by to refill their drinks and Stocke paid for the dropped pie as well as two others. Eddy still felt angry, annoyed, and a bit afraid but he managed to not infect anyone with the emotion. As they ate, they asked Eddy more questions about school and his personal life. The questions would go into a variety of subjects and topics but numerous times they came back to three central subjects, Eddy's brother, Eddy's plans for the future, and Eddy's outside of school activities. When they were finished grilling him, Roash paid for their meals, and Stocke left a generous tip for the waitress.

As he stepped out of the diner, Eddy felt much better about himself and a lot less angry. He looked up to the setting sun and breathed a sigh of relief. "Here," Stocke said offering Eddy one of the pies, he had bought, as they walked out. Eddy accepted the pie even if he still didn't forgive either man after all free food was free food. Stocke gave the other to Roash then turned to regard Eddy.

Stocke was still much taller than Eddy so the young teen had to look up to meet his eyes. "Again I'm sorry, about being crass with you Eddy. We'll be in contact if we have further questions." Stocke said and not giving Eddy a chance to reply, Stocke quickly walked toward his motorcycle, leaving Eddy and Roash to watch him leave. Eddy wanted to yell something after him but he resisted. Instead, Eddy just followed Roash to his car. It was nothing remarkable a simple four-seater that had seen better days. Eddy wordlessly climbed into the passenger seat and Roash got in on the driver's side. Despite the exterior of the van looking worn down, the inside was remarkably clean and organized, not sockhead level of neatness but it was better than Eddy's. The car started up and Roash began driving toward Eddy's home.

After some silence, Eddy spoke up, to at least clear the air."Sorry about that," Eddy stated as they started going. "I don't know what came over me." Which was a complete lie, Eddy knew exactly what had caused him to snap their secrets. Roash nodded whether he knew it to be a lie, Eddy couldn't tell. "It's alright but you need to get better control of your powers. It can be well, dangerous, especially in critical situations." Eddy just nodded along as they continued in silence for a time. As they drove through the outskirts of the town of Peach Creek, Eddy watched everything go by with mild interest.

It had taken a long time, most of Eddy's life in fact but the town was slowly turning to life. Businesses that had once been shuttered and empty were slowly being restored, people were returning. "Its good to see this town come back and thrive," Roash commented. "I've seen towns get destroyed after battles, they don't recover usually." Roash sighed then and shook his head with memories that Eddy couldn't even guess at. After a moment of somber silence, Roash again filled the void with his voice. "I guess it has to do with that new, research facility in the outskirts of town. I here there working on some pretty game-changing stuff over there. There's also that security and tech company from Asia helping too."

Eddy perked up slightly, trying to still look bored, he asked. "Do you know anything interesting about that place. The research place I mean, Sockhead never shuts up about it."

"Well, I know, that there working on various power-enhancing tech. There are rumors that they're focusing on amplifying-" He paused and gave a deep chuckle. "Nice try, Eddy but that's classified as well. Get in serious trouble for talking about that." Eddy hid his smile with a sigh and looked out the window. Amplifying something, he thought to himself. That was mildly interesting, Sockhead could start piecing the puzzle pieces together with things like that. As Eddy puzzled over this new piece of information, Roash turned on the radio. At first nothing but static played, but as the agent fiddled with the nobs, the sound slowly came forth. "So, how's that new radio station everyone is buzzing about? Is it any good?"

"I don't listen to the radio," Eddy admitted. "I prefer my records or if I have to the songs on my phone. And I wouldn't call it new, its been around for a while."

"I hope nothing's been illegally downloaded," Roash joked as he turned on the local Peach Creek radio station. Eddy rolled his eyes, something about that joke annoyed Eddy, but he attempted to let it slide. The two lapsed into silence, listening to the music and the car as it drove toward the suburbs. Eddy couldn't identify the song but it was some generic country song about mountains, lost love, or something, Eddy just tried to tune it out.

The scenery was slowly changing and Eddy felt a bit of unease welling up in him. Soon he would be at home, with no information about his brother except that he was apparently out of jail. Thanks, parents, appreciate that. Working up his nerve and courage and a bit of anger, Eddy spoke up carefully. "What can you tell me about my brother?" Roash sighed deeply and shook his head. He kept his focus on the road for a time, and Eddy wondered if he would answer at all. "Its nothing, Eddy." Roash finally said with another sigh. "Your brother just took an unscheduled trip to Japan for about a month. Don't know why he didn't tell anyone or explain himself when he came back. He's also seemed to be a bit different for some reason. Stocke wanted to know if he contacted you or your family about his trip or anything."

"No, why would he contact us, last time he showed his face he tried to rob them."

"Family, even non-blood related family is weird, you never know." Eddy thought about this and came to a simple conclusion.

"There's more isn't there," Eddy said already knowing the answer.

"There is," Roash confirmed with a nod. "Its nothing you need to worry about. It just…"

"Classified?" Eddy grouchily supplied.

"Yes, don't worry though. It's nothing serious." Roash tried to reassure. "Stocke and I will be in town for this month helping as a part of the research at that lab. So if anything happens, we'll be there in a flash." He smiled and Eddy felt a bit better about the situation, only a bit though. Trouble had a nasty way of finding him and his friends. Eddy shook himself before fear or anger could seize him. He relaxed and muttered a "Thank you," to Roash. As they got closer to home, Eddy was starting to get a headache. Worry he figured mixed with those fries he ate was starting to get to him. He rested his head on the windowsill and tried to not think about how much trouble would be in his future. It wouldn't be tonight, but Eddy knew in his gut that trouble was fast approaching.

Trouble did not find him that evening, at least not on the way back to his house. An hour later, after being dropped off by Roash and telling the agent he would be alright by himself, his mom had gone out and left only a note telling him. So, Eddy lay in his bed, in his empty house, thinking about nothing.

It was still way too early to think about sleeping and he didn't want to do anything else, so Eddy just lay on his bed and waited. It was his usual mood after having his meeting with the S.V.P. agents, they sucked the life out of him, even with Roash cheerfulness. Granted this meeting netted Eddy a free pie and meal so it was better than most meetings where they just nagged at him with their repeated morality lectures and constant questioning. "You haven't tricked people with your powers, have you? You aren't turning out like your brother and father, right? And the most annoying one: "What are you going to do with your life?"

Those were the only questions, they seemed to ask. Not just the agents but his foster parents and every adult asked those same questions of him. He had heard those questions to many times for any sincerity to escape him at this point, but it still bothered him because at least for the last he didn't know. Heroes shone with a bright confidence that Eddy knew he did not have. Besides what kind of hero could he be with only his weak powers.

Tiny sparks zapped between Eddy's fingers. It was easy to charge a phone with his sparks a villain was another beast altogether. Eddy watched his hands for a minute, trying to will the electricity to spark from them. He could manage to send the electricity from his fingers into his arms but that was the limit of his control inside his body. For some reason, he couldn't get his electricity to flow through the rest of his body. Unlike his brother who had somehow managed to be able to shoot electricity from most of his upper body. He had really drawn the short end of the stick in life and in powers.

His parents were fearsome villains who had wreck havoc on the southwestern US. His father a powerful mind manipulation powers and his mother was able to fry anything with her electricity. His brother was often fond of saying that Eddy inherited the weakest bits of their parents' powers. And Eddy hated to admit it but he was right in a certain sense. Emotional manipulation from his father and electricity from his mother, two mishmashed abilities both of which Eddy felt he had no control over. He could barely generate or shoot electricity out of his fingers while his brother could blast anything with his electricity at ease. He did manage to somewhat grasp his emotional manipulation barring the moments Eddy's powers accidentally lashed out affecting others. He also had arguably a better grasp of that than his brother did. Marcus brute-forced his way with his emotional manipulation while Eddy preferred a gentler approach that was more a light touch on a person's emotions. Although not that it mattered, a light touch meant little in the heat of battle.

Eddy sighed and forced his mind away from those thoughts. Shutting off his electricity he looked around his room for one of his "stress relieving" magazines. It was analog but Eddy still preferred the classiness of it than a laptop. Before he could even find the magazine, there was a knock at his sliding door. "Uh Eddy, it's me and Ed are you decent?" came Edd's voice.

"It's open Sockhead," Eddy replied. There was a slight pause in which the door didn't open and there was silence on the outside. "I'm decent," Eddy added and then heard a relieved sigh from outside.

The door then opened and Eddy's two best friends walked in. Both had changed and yet hadn't changed much since there preteen days. Ed was still tallest among them and surprisingly he actually bathed regularly. He had grown a brain as well although Ed still preferred to brute force his way through solutions. Ed was also the most athletic of them as well, starting to develop real muscle and strength. His red hair was the most notable change to him as his hair was growing out more than the buzz cut he used to have. If he actually combed it and dressed nicely, Eddy reflected then he might actually attract a girl other than May Kanker.

Edd still was only slightly taller than Eddy. He still wore his cap he wore for about eight years. He was at least a bit more athletic but still preferred is nerdy subjects and in his room studying that any form of social interaction.

Eddy smiled. "So, what mischief are we up to tonight boys?"

"The mischief of our homework Eddy," Edd replied matter-of-factly. "It may be our break but we still have our work that we need to do." There was a pause, then Eddy and Ed burst into laughter while Edd simply smiled. "Junkyard?"

"Junkyard!" Ed and Eddy cheered while Edd just nodded with a small smile. Eddy hopped off his bed as well. "Let's go then." Eddy and his best friends left his room, making sure to lock the screen behind him. They set off to their normal hangout spot. As they walked Ed told them of the comic he managed to smuggle past his parents. It was the generic alien attack comic from a pre-power world. It was one of the dumbest stories Eddy had heard of, but he listened with a smile, thoughts of his brother, and his future were far from his mind at least for the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well surprise, I was debating posting this chapter but I felt like only posting the prologue would be a bit dull so here the first chapter. Although don't expect another earlier chapter like this. I'll hopefully post again either early next month or sometime in the middle of next month. Anyhow thanks for the read and have a good life. Reviews and comments are appreciated.
> 
> I'm still debating on whether to have a chapter dedicated to character bios and abilities but for now, I'll post it at the end of the chapter for clarification. I'll only post it when the character's power has been revealed in the story. Next chapter will have Ed and Edd powers so until then. Bye
> 
> Eddy- A double born meaning he's born with two separate unique powers. Electricity manipulation and emotional manipulation. Can generate some electricity from himself and can somewhat control it. Can influence others' emotional state, only in small degrees. His powers are generally very weak and not as powerful as his brother's


	3. Junkyard Hangout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Eds unwind a bit at the Junkyard.

It didn't take long to reach the junkyard. Especially after Ed called for an impromptu race. The boys sped to the junkyard with, Ed of course in the lead. Eddy laughed as he ran, he knew he couldn't outrun his best friend but he could at least beat Double D. When they reached the junkyard gates, his prediction came true with Ed winning while Eddy himself came in second place. Both Eddy and Edd took a moment to catch their breaths while Ed just smiled triumphantly.

"Well that was dumb," Eddy said with a small smile. Edd shared that smile. He wasn't winded too badly, a testament to his somewhat improving athletism.

It didn't take long for them to all recover and Ed moved the tear in the fence creating a small opening for them. "Let's get moving gentlemen."

The junkyard thankfully hadn't changed much as they grew older. There was still junk, just a lot more of it. As Eddy walked, he looked over at the newer piles of broken machinery or destroyed gadgets. Most of all of this junk either came from Super clashes or one of the hero schools in the state. As they walked past one of the newer piles, Edd stopped briefly to pick through it. Apparently finding nothing of interest, Edd continued onward. "Nothing exciting?" Eddy asked.

"No," Edd answered. "I was hoping that there could be some parts in there but no such luck."

"There's a lot more of that junk here than usual, though," Eddy noted. "Any recent battles happen or something?"

"Nope," Ed said. "Not in Peach Creek at least." They continued walking, following a path that was slowly becoming covered in useless junk. "It might have to do with my parents' work, Eddy. Researching superpowers goes through plenty of robots and machinery."

Eddy nodded then remembered his talk with Roash a few hours earlier "Roash briefly mentioned that place your dad works at." Eddy stated. "Didn't say anything except for they're working on amplifying something, he clammed up after saying that though saying it was classified."

"Hmm," was all Edd replied with at first the continued. "Well I supposed it being classified makes since. But I suppose that hint will have to sustain my curiosity for now. Thank you, Eddy."

Eddy felt a bit satisfied at that, it was something at least. But that raised another question for him, but before he could answer Ed asked it. "What's the difference?" Ed asked. "I mean what the difference between what that's doing and your stuff and other gadgets and stuff."

Edd paused at another pile and started digging. "Well you see, most of the gadgets and technology currently available for heroes or the general population either manage their powers, keep their powers stable, or are there to artificially strengthen their power. Not even the high-end inventions can naturally increase a person's power. However, if my parents are working on a new invention that can actually amplify someone's power then it would truly be revolutionary." Edd said all this with that usual excitement of his when his parents' research was brought up. He smiled faded as he calmed down and he went back to digging in the junk. "Although that's highly speculative on my part. Roash could mean any number of things from that statement of his." Edd rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry if that was too much," He apologized only for both his friends to shake their heads. "Nah, its cool Double D," Ed reassured.

"Yea," Eddy added. "Thinking never hurt anybody."

Edd cheered up a small bit and left the pile he was searching at and the trio moved on toward the van. However, they only took a few more steps before Double D paused again. This time he didn't look at a random pile of junk, he was looking at Eddy with a serious expression on his face.

Eddy sighed. He finally realized, shoot. "Roash? So today was one of your meetings?" Edd asked cautiously.

"Yes," Eddy stated a bit too forcefully. "I'm fine. He made sure to give nothing away as he continued to walk. The other two Eds were giving him worried looks so Eddy sped up a bit to reach their van faster." His friends followed behind him, both trying to think up something comforting to say. Eddy walked even faster attempting to get to the van before either of his friends could ask him about the meeting with the agents. Thankfully he succeeded, and they reached the van in somber silence.

The van's outer appearance hadn't changed much over the years either. It had steadily been improved by the Eds since their childhood though. They had managed to fix up and replace the broken wheels. The headlights still were cracked but worked, occasionally. It was somewhat drivable as well, although whether or not it was exactly legal Eddy didn't know. Edd unlocked the door as they approached, and Eddy opened the driver's side door and hopped inside. The inside had been somewhat refurbished as of late. To fix the van back up, cost, most of the Eds', well mostly Edd's money. But to Eddy, it was worth every expense. The old run-down van of their childhood and been slowly refurbished into a semi-functioning vehicle. The inside had been worked on and now wasn't a mess.

Eddy plopped himself down in the driver's seat while Ed, entering through the back doors, took his position on the waterbed and pulled out his comics from a box nearby and began to read. While Edd went about to tiding up.

The van had always been their sort of "secret hideout." It was a nice place to avoid other kids, parents, and responsibilities. Ed could have his comics without fear of getting in trouble. Edd could tinker and scavenge the area without worry of creating a mess in his house. And Eddy had a place to simply relax and have some privacy. The overall location was less than ideal as the junkyard had a unique smell that took some getting used to. Edd constantly had to buy air fresheners to keep the smell out. Then the owner of the junkyard had attempted to sell the van which had Edd working some sort of deal with the man, which resulted in the van safe and the Eds could visit the junkyard without repercussions.

Still, the Eds had tried various spots around the Cul-Da-Sac to hide their van, but the junkyard was the best place for it. It was their haven, and now that it had wheels, they could move it anywhere to avoid whoever bothered them. Edd had mostly taken care of the legal mumbo-jumbo so Eddy didn't care about how it came to be he was just happy for a nice spot to relax.

Eddy reclined in his seat and was just about to relax when Edd started up his obnoxiously loud homemade vacuum. "Hey, Sockhead," Eddy asked as he sat back up. "Did you ever fix the radio after Ed broke it."

"I fixed it last weekend, actually," Edd replied. "It can still act a bit funny though."

Eddy leaned forward and began to fiddle with the radio. Like Edd warned it first played static then some garbled speech, but after a few seconds of fiddling with it, Eddy got a station playing. "Oh, Eddy," Ed spoke up turning his attention away from the comics. "Could you pretty please turn it on, the national hero radio talk show," Ed asked. "There evening show will start up soon." Eddy sighed but complied. He had the station memorized by now so Ed didn't have to tell him which channel it was on.

As soon as he turned it on, loud obnoxious music played, fit with airhorns and base boosted noises. Eddy immediately turned down the volume, letting out a curse. When he got the sound set to a normal volume, a person sounding way too enthusiastic began to speak up. "Well, its' been a busy day for all of our heroes today. We got multiple news stories to cover today, first a story from the good ol state of Florida. Just this week a group of heroes…"

Ed liked to keep up with these types of shows, and news reports. He primarily watched Youtube videos about heroes and their heroics, but regardless of the source, he loved listening to these hero talk shows. Eddy didn't much care for them, so he began to tune out the host, propping up his feet on the dash, he closed his eyes and let himself relax for a moment. Neither of the two was saying anything about the meeting but Eddy knew they would eventually. That was the kind of friends they were after all. Eddy groaned to himself as he got relaxed in the van's seat. And only a short time later, Eddy was drifting off to sleep. The radio and Ed's dumb vacuum just small annoyances.

When he woke up from his nap, a huge mutated fly hovered above him. Eddy jumped and swung wildly attempting to hit the creature. His hands went through the grotesque-looking fly and Eddy's foggy mind connected the dots. He glared at the fly and then at his friend who was still reading his comic. "Ed!" Eddy snapped. Ed looked up from his comic and noticed the fly he had created. "Oops sorry, Eddy." Ed apologized. Ed closed his eyes and the fly slowly began to fade. Then with a bit more effort, it disappeared altogether. "Sorry Eddy," Ed apologized again. "I didn't mean to do it honest." Eddy looked at him and relaxed his glare. "No problem," Eddy grumbled. His heart rate was still high but a few calming breaths and he felt it return to normal.

It was then that Eddy realized that Edd had already left the van. "Hey, Lumpy where did sockhead go?" Eddy asked. This time Ed didn't look up from his comic, he just pointed at the van's rear doors. "He said he wanted to look for some parts to that thing, he's fixing," Ed answered. Then he did look up from his comic. "I have a comic that you should read Eddy," Ed said enthusiastically. "It's about alien girls invading and capturing men. It can take your mind off things."

Eddy shook his head. "Thanks, Ed, but I'm fine. I'll think about the comic though." Ed seemed satisfied if still a little worried. "I'm going to go find Sockhead," Eddy stated before Ed could say anything. He opened the driver's side door and went to look for his other friend.

Which didn't take long as he was only a few feet away from the van. He was once again picking through a pile of discarded junk. As Eddy walked toward him, Eddy spotted a weird robotic head at the top of a nearby pile. It almost looked like a panda with its faded black and white color scheme. Eddy looked away from the thing as a feeling of unease grew up inside him. Stupid robots always gave him the creeps.

Eddy put the thought of robots out of his mind, he had enough to bother him without adding creepy robots to the mix. Edd nodded to him as he approached. "I'm guessing Ed scared you too," Edd said a slight chuckle in his voice.

Eddy gave a grunt as a reply. Then noticed Edd was holding something. "So Sockhead what new thing do you got this week?" Eddy asked.

Edd shrugged. "The same thing as last time, support items, and other useful tools that could come in handy for a Hero." In one of his gloved hands, Edd held some random piece of junk while his other hand rummaged through the pile. In Edd's pocket, Eddy spotted a pair of black gloves sticking out. "So, what are these?" Eddy asked pointing to the gloves. Edd pulled them out of his pocket and gave them a once over. "Well, these are a prototype of some gloves I've been tinkering with," Edd replied. As Eddy looked at them, he noticed the gloves appeared to be a bit more high tech than at first glance. "They're meant to both retain an elemental charge and to help a person channel their powers, but they often don't work as I would hope they would," Edd explained further.

"Elemental?" Eddy asked confused.

"Not like in the Periodic Table of Elements," Edd explained. "More of in the modern sense of powers and the like, wind, fire, ice, Electricity."

"So they can work for me?" Eddy asked after a second of thought. Edd looked away then bit his lip, finally, he sighed. "They were supposed to as they were meant to be for your birthday in a month, but I haven't had much success working on them."

Before Edd could stop him, Eddy snatched the gloves from him and slipped them on. "Eddy!" Edd exclaimed trying to grab the gloves back, but Eddy was faster and slid out of his friend's reach. Eddy curled his fingers into a fist then stretched them, hoping to activate the gloves. When nothing happened Eddy looked at the now frustrated looking Edd. "What gives?"

Edd sighed. "First, if you had been paying attention then you would have heard me say, I'm still working on them, secondly they still need the user, that's you, to activate their ability."

Eddy nodded summoned his electricity to his hands. It took a moment but the sparks came fully into his hands, small sparks escaping a bit from his fingers and palms, he turned to Double D. "What's next?" He asked getting a bit excited. Edd simply sighed. "Please keep in mind that this is still experimental and may not work effectively so please do not get your hopes up. But try to aim at something and fire. The gloves should uhh help." Edd rubbed his hands together nervously. Eddy noticed his friend's reaction and reached out a hand stopping as a bit of electricity shot from his hand toward his friend. He mentally willed it to stop and Edd backed safely away. "Edd chill out it's not that serious. If it doesn't work it doesn't work." Eddy said with a shrug. "No need to worry."

"I'm not worried," a worried Edd said. "I just…" he trailed off. Eddy rolled his eyes and turned looking for a proper target. His eyes fell upon the weird robot head and Eddy smiled. He focused his electricity in his right hand and made a finger gun, curling his pinky and ring fingers, keeping his thumb out but bent, and using his middle and index finger acted as the barrel of the gun. And he used his thumb as a makeshift sight

Eddy tried not to think and just blast the head. He focused his thoughts on controlling his electricity ordering it to blast out of his fingertips. And surprisingly it did. A ball of electricity flashed out of his fingertips and hit a random piece of junk, not coming close to the head. Eddy stared surprised and nearly lost control of his electric current. He focused quickly and aimed again. This time his shot flew toward the robot's head but disappeared before it got closer to the target. Eddy glared at the robot head and focused even harder. He breathed and fired, this time Eddy focused and attempted to control the electricity as it left his fingers. Under his control, a bolt of electricity escaped his fingers. The tiny shock wave forced Eddy to change his footing to keep from slipping and steady his right hand with the left. He focused the bolt to fly toward that dumb head but the bolt swerved and hit a metal pipe sticking out of a nearby junk pile. Eddy frowned. The metal bar sparked with electricity which quickly spread to the other metal junk then faded.

Eddy sighed and deactivated his power. It was odd he noted, his powers certainly controlled a bit better. He usually had trouble forming balls of electricity much less a bolt of it. So the gloves did somewhat work, but the problem was, of course, Eddy himself. It was then Eddy noticed how hot the gloves were becoming so he slipped them off and carefully handed them back to Double D. "Here," he said smiling, despite feeling a bit peeved that he missed his mark. "Those gloves aren't half bad. Just make sure they don't burn my hands off and add a sight or something."

Edd nodded seriously, muttering to himself and pulling out a mini-notebook and pen. He began to madly scribble down Eddy's suggestion as well as some other notes. Eddy waited for Edd to finish before talking.

"Well, I'm heading back to the van," Eddy said. He turned to go and Edd followed behind. "I'll join you, Eddy," Edd stated. "Also, I think we could practice the slingshots tonight as well."

Eddy felt a bit better at that prospect, sure it was less about aiming a slingshot and more blowing off steam, and Eddy needed some sort of win today. So, Eddy cheered up and walked back toward the van with Edd who still examining the gloves. As he passed that dumb robot head, Eddy made sure to push it off the pile, taking some satisfaction at watching it hit the ground. It had seemed to be mocking him with its creepy look.

When they returned to the van, Ed was already on his third comic and the annoying news host was still on talking about the variety of conflicts heroes had dealt with across America and parts of Canada and Mexico. Eddy sat back in his seat while Edd went through a few of the boxes to find what he needed for the slingshots.

The big lug himself was listening to the broadcast with rapt attention while still reading his comics. "A tragedy was prevented in Chicago today. A would-be bank robber with a near S class power attempted to take over the city of Chicago. He destroyed several banks, then attempted to annex the city. He was luckily stopped just in time before too much destruction could befall the city." The radio host spoke up. "Who put a stop to this would-be conqueror you may ask, well a father and son duo by the name of-"

Eddy quickly shut off the radio and glanced at Ed. The teen had lost interest in the story and his comic and slumped down on the back mattress. Seeing his friend slumped over like that never felt good. Eddy looked away feeling awkward. He tried to think up a question to take Ed's mind off things but nothing particular came to him. He was just about to try his power when Edd spoke up. "Well, uhh guys, I have the slingshots, unmodified, unfortunately, I can set up the can launcher and you can practice your shooting." Ed slightly cheered up at that and Eddy breathed a sigh of relief. Ed began putting away his comics, back in their box and Edd neatly stacked them while Eddy watched. When he finished, Ed grabbed one of the boxes shook it a bit then smiled. "Got it Double D!" Ed proclaimed. Edd grabbed a different box of his inventions and they were ready. The trio exited the van and Edd locked up. They then set off toward their mock firing range.

As they walked, Eddy glanced over at Ed to make sure the muscle of the group was okay. He was smiling again and only seemed a bit downtrodden. Ed was extremely sensitive to father and son duos, or parent and child heroes in general. Much like how Edd used to have a complex surrounding his power, or how Eddy felt about his abilities. Eddy sighed and not for the first time thought about how much of a mess he and his friends were.

The firing range was a clear area of the junkyard that the Eds had set up a mock shooting gallery. It was pretty barebones just a few yards distance from their standing positions to their targets, usually just old used cans that Edd had cleaned up. Sometimes Edd would use his illusions to spice things up but it was a pretty basic thing. Still, it was a nice way of having fun and relaxing for the extremely cheap price of free. Sometimes even May would come down and shoot with them, it was nice, even if she was a Kanker.

As Edd set about preparing the can launcher, Ed dragged over a less than clean table to use. Eddy went to the box that Edd had carried. He pulled out two slingshots and grabbed the two ammo pouches as well. Edd walked up to the table and set the pouch for Ed down on it and put his pouch on his side. Ed picked up his pouch and slingshot. They then took their positions at the table, waiting on Edd to start up the can launcher.

Eddy and Ed readied their slingshots which were of a simplistic design. The shaft of the Y shaped slingshot was simple with none of the fancy or other gizmos Edd had made. It wasn't Edd's best work or prettiest but it served for practicing on both immovable and falling cans. As Eddy picked it up, Ed did the same and the two got ready to fire. Eddy reached for the small pouch at his side, drawing out a few of the metal ball bearings. Eddy placed one of the bearings in the holder of the slingshot while placing the rest on the old table in front of them. Ed did likewise pulling out a handful of ball bearings and placing them on the table. Eddy pulled at the bands of the slingshot testing them to be sure of their strength. He wasn't as good as Edd was with his slingshot accuracy, what with Edd having telekinesis but Eddy still prided himself on some moderate skill.

After feeling a bit more confident with his slingshot, Eddy got back into his ready stance. One hand on the shaft of the slingshot and another on the holder and began to pull back the cord. "Ready?" Edd asked.

"Yup," the two called out. Edd activated his modified skeet launcher, that sent up small used cans in the air. "Go," Edd called out. Eddy aimed and attempted to hit the cans as they flew into the air. His first shot missed entirely, along with his second and third attempts as well missed their respective targets. Eddy glanced to make sure Ed was doing just as well as he was. Ed to Eddy's relief was actually doing even worse since he wasn't aiming but firing wildly. Eddy grabbed more ammo and turned his attention back to the cans, which were now floating in the air. Then suddenly the cans started to move, from veering off from each other or moving in wild directions. Eddy lowered the draw on his slingshot and glared at Edd. "You could at least make it easy for us," Eddy stated annoyed.

Edd simply chuckled. "Where's the fun in that." Eddy sighed and watched the cans move and sway in the air above him. He studied the cans for a minute trying to see the pattern. Edd wasn't a professional and he couldn't fully hold multiple objects in the air and give them a unique movement. So, Eddy watched, and just as he noticed a pattern in how the cans moved, one of the cans got knocked down. Eddy blinked and looked at the smiling Ed. "Lucky shot," Eddy grumbled. Then he went back to focusing on the remaining three cans. Eddy timed his shot and fired, hitting another of the cans. It fell from the sky and clattered to the ground close to Ed's can.

Eddy smirked right back at Ed. "Looks like we're even then huh." Ed smiled even broader and grabbed more ammo from his pouch. Eddy does likewise and they both try to hit the two now rapidly moving cans. He fired and missed again. Beside him Ed, let out a little snicker. Eddy glanced over at the redhaired teen, who had the same level of success at hitting the can as Eddy. "Just focus and aim gentlemen." Edd encouraged. "You can do it."

"Just aim, he says," Eddy grumbled as he tried again. Edd had the can slow down now, and Eddy tracked it with his eyes. He aimed and took a deep breath and tried to focus. Breath in and just… just as Eddy was about to fire the can disappeared. Eddy shook his head and glared at Ed who was now grinning innocently. The "sky" was completely different from its surroundings. Where the can was a second ago, a splotch of inky imitation of the night sky covered it. "Ed!" Eddy snapped. "Could you please put the sky back!" Eddy shouted frustrated. Ed just snickered. "Use your other senses," Ed said." Eddy rolled his eyes.

"I haven't moved either can," Edd informed.

Ed's illusions didn't erase things so the cans were still floating up in the sky. So again, Eddy breathed and focused. He could always just distract Ed, the big lug had a difficult time keeping up his illusions for a long time, even now at the edges of the illusion began to fade or shimmer, but for whatever reason Eddy didn't want to do that. He would win this even with Ed's interference. When he was satisfied, Eddy let loose and fired at a spot he was half confident a can floated. Nothing. "Don't give up, Eddy" Ed stated. "See the unseeable and channel your focus into hitting that can," Eddy grumbled to himself, fairly certain Ed was mixing his quotes again. He took a pause and fired. This time he was rewarded with a hollow ting noise and a can fell from the sky. There was a moment of pause then all three Eds were cheering. Ed's illusion melted away and the can fell to the ground as Ed applauded Eddy's lucky shot.

Eddy for his part stared at first then cheered himself along with his best friends. When the excitement died down, Eddy noticed that there was still one can still in the air. Knowing that his skill and luck wouldn't last enough to hit the can, Eddy decided to ignore the can still in the air. He instead decided to grab the can he had knocked out of the sky. He picked up the right can and shook it hearing the metal ball inside. "Great shot, Eddy," Ed said.

"Agreed, I didn't have to use my power either," Edd noted. That made Eddy stick out his chest a bit and smile broader. "What can I say," Eddy bragged. "I'm just that good." It was a silly thing to cheer for but Eddy was happy with himself and his two friends made the satisfaction feel even better.

Edd began to gather up some of the slingshot ammo he could along with the cans which floated beside him as he gathered them up. Eddy looked at his friend gathering up the remnants of their game, mostly to get out of work. Edd had come along way since his powers developed nine years ago. At first, when he had returned from whatever trip his parents dragged him on, he lied about his powers developing. He hid his powers for a full year and never talked about them. It had taken some convincing and a bit of soothing for Edd to admit he had developed his powers while on a trip with his parents. As Eddy recalled Edd started wearing that cap of his around the same time he came back for the trip as well. Eddy always suspected the two might have been connected but he never wanted to talk about it with his friend. Eddy knew the importance of keeping personal secrets. Still, Eddy wished Edd had used his powers a bit for their scams. They could have made a boatload of money if he used his abilities.

The sound of laughter drew Eddy out of his thoughts. He looked up to see a younger version of himself standing there arms crossed just looking at the cleaning Eds. His younger self was opening his mouth but no sound escaped it. Both Ed and Edd were chuckling at the illusion as if it were something funny. Eddy looked and noticed that he was standing just like his imitation, arms crossed, and just looking and not helping. Eddy rolled his eyes but did join in the clean, which was already close to being done. The illusion or shadow as Ed liked to call it still stood there looking smug. "I did not look like that," Eddy complained. Which just got a chuckle from his friends.

When they were finished collecting their junk, Edd walked to his friends, junk floating behind him. "Shall we call it a night, fellows, or do you want to go another round, or perhaps do you want to do some other training?"

It was getting dark out, and Eddy knew that they should be wrapping up soon, but he also didn't want to call it quits either. "I can go for at least one more round," Eddy answered. Ed quickly agreed as well, and Edd set up the can launcher for another round. This round was less climactic than their first. Eddy didn't manage any special feats or trick shots, but neither did Ed. Despite that fact, Eddy enjoyed himself, laughing, and missing shots. Eventually after more than one round the Eds mostly Edd cleaned up and they returned the slingshots, their ammo as well as the can launcher to the van. Edd took a single box out of the van and then relocked it.

"What's in the box Double D?" Ed asked as they all walked back to their houses.

"Just some projects, I wanted to look over, tonight," Edd explained as the box floated in front of him. "There are a few things I want to look at before I go to bed."

As they walked back, the subject changed to that of their can shooting. Eddy smiled as they walked back, bragging about his wins and ignoring his many misses and misfires. Eddy hadn't forgotten about his brother and the worry from that but it was at least minimal compared to before. "Well, see you guys later," Eddy said when they reached the Cul-Da-Sac. He turned to head back to his house but was stopped by a powerful bear hug from Ed. Eddy let out a startled gasp and squirmed to get out of Ed's grip. "Let me go you big smelly-" Eddy complained but was cut off by Ed hugging him harder. "We love you, Eddy," Ed cried, hugging Eddy even tighter. "You're our friend so we will help you no matter what. Even if the government agents come and try to take you away to harvest your cells to create a robotic version of you. We'll fight for you." Eddy felt himself grow lightheaded as Ed continued his hugging. "Ed release him," Edd ordered. "He can't breathe!"

"Sorry," Ed apologized as he released Eddy. Eddy took several deep breaths and got back to his feet. It was hard to believe super strength wasn't part of Ed's abilities. When he recovered, Eddy looked at his friends and rolled his eyes. Before Eddy could yell at his friend, Edd spoke up. "What Ed means to say is Eddy, we're your friends, we don't want to force you to talk about things, but you can talk to us. We're here for you, no matter the problem."

Eddy wanted to roll his eyes and sigh but he smiled. "Thanks you guys, it means a lot." They then hugged him, in a less painful and more breathable way. And Eddy didn't complain nor did he pull away. When they pulled away from each other, Eddy again thanked them. "We're here for you Eddy," Edd stated.

"Yea, Eddy, no matter what tries to hurt you, will be there."

Eddy chuckled to himself at hearing all that. "Thanks, guys, I mean it too. I'll talk about it tomorrow." Eddy said. "Not tonight but tomorrow would be a good time for me." They nodded and accepted that. And after another back-breaking hug from Ed, they parted ways.

Eddy entered his house and to his surprise, his parents still weren't home. There were no messages on the answering machine and none on his phone. Eddy swung by the kitchen grabbed a slice of the pie from earlier and went to his room. Eddy half expected his brother to be in his room in some overdramatic fashion, but nothing that dramatic awaited him. His empty room just as he left it was all that greeted him. Eddy grabbed the remote that was sitting next to him on his bed and turned on the T.V. Eddy smiled as he sat on his bed and ate his pie, and flipped through channels. Problems Eddy reflected weren't so bad with friends like he had and good pie now and again. Eddy continued to relax and enjoy his pie. For the moment at least, his brother and his worries disappeared, if only for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There isn't much to say here so I won't waste your time. Hope you enjoyed it. Leave a comment if you feel like it. Next chapter either October or November.
> 
> Ed: - Projection can cast illusionary images near and around himself. The image's appearance is based on a few factors, Ed's concentration, his mental image of said object, and the lighting of where he's at are just a few of the factors at play. Usually, he can't create multiple large projections as its too taxing.
> 
> Edd: Also Double born like Eddy. Telekinesis and Ricochet Can manipulate things with his mind. Has a mental block that prevents him from working on larger objects and people. Small objects are just fine, however. Is usually limited to line of sight unless he has a solid mental picture of his surroundings. As for his ricochet power, small objects he touches can begin to bounce about. It usually only lasts a few seconds and it loses its effectiveness the bigger the object and the larger it is.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Can't believe it's taken this long for me to write and start publishing an EEnE fanfic. I loved this show as a kid and it was a huge part of my childhood. There was that one a posted a while ago but I don't really count that one. Anyways two disclaimers about this story. The first is that this will be more of a Sci-fantasy story rather than a Sci-fi story. This just means there I tend to write toward the more fantastical and science behind certain things will be less in the realm of realism. You'll see what I mean in later chapters. The second disclaimer this story will touch on certain themes. There's going to be some implied child abuse in this story.
> 
> Anyways thanks for the read, leave a review, some feedback, or a random comment if you feel inclined and have a great life.


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